St. Ethelbert’s CatholicPrimary School

Admissions Policy and Procedures 2018 – 2019

“I serve Jesus with my body, heart, mind and soul.”

Serviam means ‘I serve’. Jesus Christ has taught us, ‘it is more blessed to serve than to be served’. At St Ethelbert’s school, following our Catholic faith, we serve the whole person – mind, heart, body and soul.

Body – because we care for our wellbeing, our parish neighbourhood and our environment.

Heart – because we teach love and respect for all.

Mind – because we believe in excellent education.

Soul – because we learn to pray and become closer to God as his children.

St. Ethelbert’s CatholicPrimary School is a voluntary aided school in the Diocese of Southwark. It is in the trusteeship of the Diocese. The school is conducted by its governing body as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its Trust Deed and Instrument of Government, and seeks at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ. The school exists primarily to serve the Catholic community and Catholic children always have priority of admission. However, the Governing Body welcomes all applications, particularly from those of other denominations and faiths who support the religious ethos of the school.

Having consulted with the Local Authority and other admission authorities, the Governors intend to admit into the reception class, in September, up to (30) pupils without reference to ability or aptitude.

Where the number of applications exceeds (30), the Governors will offer places using the following criteria in the order stated:-

  1. Looked After Catholic Children and Adopted Children or Looked After Children in the care of Catholic families. Children in care is defined as a child under the age of 18 years for whom the Local Authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/ carers (Section 22 of the Childrens Act 1989) or who is subject of a care order under Part IV of the Act.
  1. Baptised Catholic children. These are given priority based on distance from the home to the school.Evidence of Baptism will be required.

2a. Baptised Catholic children living within the parish of Saints Ethelbert and Gertrude, Ramsgate and Minster.These are given priority based on distance from the home to the school. Evidence of Baptism will be required.

2b. Baptised Catholic children living outside of the parish of Saints Ethelbert and Gertrude, Ramsgate and Minster.These are given priority based on distance from the home to the school.Evidence of Baptism will be required.

The parish of boundaries of Saints Ethelbert and Gertrude, Ramsgate and Minster consists of the area enclosed by the following boundary line:

North

From the roundabout (A28 and A299) eastwards along the public footpath past Plumstone Farm to the junction of the B2048 and B2190; thence along the B2190 and 2050 past Kent International Airport to the old borough boundary north of Manston Court; thence north-easterly along the old borough boundary along Manston Court road and the A256 to the junction of Westwood Road and Margate Road; thence in a south-easterly direction crossing Northwood Road between Mentmore Road and Vincents Close, including Newlands Lane, going between Park Avenue and Prestedge Avenue, including both sides of West Dumpton lane, to the junction with Hereson Road; thence south along Hereson Road to the junction with Warten Road; thence along Warten Road to the junction with Dumpton Park Drive; thence in a continued imaginary line to the sea.

East

The Sea.

South

From the Sea at Shell Ness along the River Stour to Stonar cut; thence westwards through Stonar Cut and continuing Northwards and Westwards by the River Stour to the Great Stour River.

West

Along the GreatStourRiver and WantsumRiver to the A28; thence along the A28 to the roundabout (A28 and A299).

N.B. The boundary runs along the middle of all roads, rivers and paths unless otherwise stated.

An Ordnance Survey map of this parish and its boundaries can be seen in the school office at any time.

Note: Before the application of oversubscription criteria children with a statement of special educational need or Education (SSEN) or Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which names the school will be admitted. As a result of this the published admissions number will be reduced accordingly.

  1. Children enrolled in the catechumenate. Evidence of enrolment in the catechumenate will be required.
  1. Other Children in Local Authority Care – a child under the age of 18 years for whom the local authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/carers (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) or who is the subject of a care order under Part IV of the Act. This applies equally to children who immediately after being looked after by the local authority became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. (As defined by Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or Section 8 or 14A of the Children Act 1989)
  1. Children with a brother or sister attending school when the child starts. In this context brother or sister means children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers and sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brother or sisters. The sibling link is maintained as long as the family live at the same address as when the first child applied, or has moved closer to the school than when the first child was offered a place, or has moved to an address that is less than 2 miles from the school using the distance measured by the method outlined in the distance/nearness of children’s home to school criterion.
  1. Children of any full time or part time member of school and nursery staff who have had continuous employment at the school for three years or more before the 1st September of the year the child joins the school.
  1. Children who are members of Eastern Orthodox Churches. Evidence of Baptism will be required.
  1. Children who are members of other Christian denominations. Evidence of Baptism (or dedication) provided by a priest or minister of a designated place of worship will be required.
  1. Children of other faiths. Evidence of membership of the faith should be provided stating that the child is a regular member – every week and has been for over the past year.

Any other children.These are given priority based on distance from the home to the school.Nearness of children's homes to school – Kent County Council use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by NLPG. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody.

The following order of priorities will be applied when applications within any of the above categories exceed the places available and it is necessary to decide between applications:

  1. A brother or sister on the school roll at the time of admission. Evidence of the relationship may be required.
  1. Medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and the particular school.
  1. Distance from home to school. Evidence of residence may be required. We use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using Ordnance Survey address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by Ordnance Survey. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. When we apply the distance criterion for an oversubscribed Community or Voluntary Controlled school, these straight line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the school.

Note:
Catholics include members of the Latin and OrientalRiteChurches that are in union with the Bishop of Rome. Reference to other Christian denominations refers to denominations that are full members of Churches Together in England.

Pupils’ Home Address: is considered to be a residential property that is a child’s only or main residence and not an address at which your child might sometimes stay or sleep due to your own domestic or special arrangements. This address must be the pupil’s home address on the day you complete your application form and which is either

-owned by the child’s parent, parents or guardian

- leased to or rented by child’s parent, parents or guardian under a lease or written rental agreement.

If you live separately from your partner but share responsibility for your child and the child lives at two different addresses during the week, we will regard the home address as the one where the child sleeps for the majority of weekdays.

A block of flats has a single address point reference, so applicants living in the same block will be regarded as living the same distance away from the school. If there is equal eligibility for the last place available, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide who should be given a place.

Admissions procedure

In addition to the Common Application Form (CAF) supplied by the Local Authority, the Supplementary Information Form available from the school, should be completed and sent to the office at the school not later than the closing date published by the Local Authority. This should be done even if the CAF is completed online. If the Supplementary Information Form is not completed, the governing body of the school will only be able to consider the application after all applicants who have completed a Supplementary Information Form. You are advised to make two copies of the forms. You should retain one copy and pass the second copy to the school or your priest, as indicated.

Offers of places will be sent to parents on the common offer date as notified by the Local Authority.

Appeals
Parents whose applications for places are unsuccessful may appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel set up in accordance with section 94 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Appeals must be made in writing and must set out the reasons on which the appeal is made. Appeals should be made to the Admissions Appeal Clerk at the school address. Parents/Carers have the right to make oral representations to the Appeal Panel.
Infant classes are restricted by the legislation to 30 children. Parents should be aware that an appeal against refusal of a place in an infant class may only succeed if it can be demonstrated that: -

  1. the admission of additional children would not breach the infant class size limit; or
  2. the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or had not been correctly and impartially applied and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or
  3. the panel decides that the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.

Admission of children outside their normal age group
Parents who are seeking a place for their child outside of their normal age group, eg, the child has experienced problems such as ill health or the parents of a summer born child preferring not to send their child to school until the September following their fifth birthday, may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to reception rather than year 1.
Governors will make decisions on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of the parent’s views; information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group, and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely. They will also consider the views of the school’s head teacher. When informing a parent of the decision which year group the child should be admitted to, the governors will set out clearly the reasons for their decision.
Where the governors agree to a parent’s request for their child to be admitted out of their normal age group and, as a consequence of that decision, the child will be admitted to the age group to which pupils are normally admitted to the school the local authority will process the application as part of the main admissions round, (unless the parental request is made too late for this to be possible) and on the basis of the determined admission arrangements, including the application of oversubscription criteria where applicable. Parents have a statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a school for which they have applied. This right does not apply if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.

Waiting Lists

Parents of children who have not been offered a place at the school may ask for the child’s name to be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list will need to be updated every month by contact from the parent to express that they still wish their child to remain on the waiting list and this will be operated on the same admissions criteria as above. Placing a child’s name on the list does not guarantee that a place will come available. This does not prevent parents from exercising their right to appeal against the decision not to offer a place. It is possible that when a child is directed under the local authority’s fair access protocol they will take precedence over those children already on the list. Waiting lists are re-ranked, in line with the published oversubscription criteria every time a child is added.

Late Applications

Any late applications will be considered by the Governors' Admissions Committee, in the event of there being any available places using the above criteria. If all places have been filled, parents will be offered the opportunity of placing their child’s name on the waiting list. This does not prevent parents from exercising their right to appeal against the decision not to offer a place.

This admissions procedure, although primarily relevant to children for whom a place is sought at the normal age of entry to primary education (Year R), applies also to succeeding years, subject to availability of places.

Admission of children below compulsory school age

The governors will provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents have the right that the date that their child is admitted to the school is deferred until later in the school year or until that child reaches compulsory school age in that school year; parents may also request that their child attends part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age.

NOTES

In-year (casual) admissions

Applications for a place at the school in-year must be made using the common application form of the local authority where the child resides. This form must be returned to the school. The school’s supplementary form should also be completed to enable the governors to rank the application in event of there being more than one application for a place. The governors will use the same criteria to rank the applications as that listed above. The offer of a place at the school will be made on behalf of the governors. In the event of the governors deciding that a place cannot be offered parents will be offered the opportunity of placing their child’s name on the waiting list. This does not prevent parents from exercising their right to appeal against the decision not to offer a place.

Tie Breaker

In a tie breaker situation the nearness of an applicant’s home will be the decider. In the event of more than one applicant has the same distance from home to school then a random selection will be applied.

Withdrawal of Offer

After a place has been offered the school reserves the right to withdraw the place in the following circumstances:

  1. when a parent has failed to respond to an offer within 15 working days; or
  2. when a parent has failed to notify the school of important changes to the application information; or
  3. the admission authority offered the place on the basis of fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from a parent.

Thanet Catholic Deanery